453, Old Monk (2/2)

453, Old Monk (2/2)

The night is gloomy.

The stone steps in front of the "Yuanxing Gate", the main gate of Zhaoti Temple, are covered with moss. The wooden gatehouse of the temple has been eaten by insects and is full of holes, but the "Yuanxing Gate" plaque hanging on the forehead is still upright.

"Uu——"

Su Wu and his party reined up their horses and stopped at the main entrance of the temple.

He jumped off his strong horse and pulled it onto the stone steps in front of the main entrance.

Behind him, Anzuna, the samurai of the Inoue family, and others led their horses to follow.

"Yuanxingmen..."

Su Wu looked at the decayed and tall gatehouse. The soy sauce-colored gatehouse was densely covered with moth-eaten holes, and cracks connected the holes. This gatehouse gave the impression that it was extremely unstable, and it was very likely that it would be pushed aside. Just collapse.

There are many legends about the "Yuanxing Gate" of Zhaoti Temple.

According to legend, this portal was woven from the hair of many monks in Zhaoti Temple.

The monks have been under the precepts for a long time, and their hearts are extremely depressed. The yearning and nostalgia for the world of mortals fill their thoughts, so that the troubles on their heads grow wildly. Therefore, in the middle of every month, the chief officials in the temple will gather together to focus on the disciples. Get a hair trim.

The hair that was cut off burned constantly and could not be washed away by water.

They were piled up in the mountains behind Zhaoti Temple.

Finally, one day, large clumps of hair drifted away in the wind and clung to the original real 'Yuanxing Gate'. The hair penetrated the real 'Yuanxing Gate', hollowing out the wooden door and turning it into a wooden door. It became a strange door made of hair.

Turned into a serious thief!

This fierce thief specially picks out young women with beautiful faces.

In the middle of every month, when a young woman passes by the Yuanxing Gate, she will see that the door turns into a terrifying door with black hair. Those hairs will entangle the young woman and strip her of her clothes. Drag her into the Hair Gate and the hair will weave a cocoon around her, making her a part of the Hair Gate!

The six people Su Wu brought with him were all men.

There is no young woman.

An Gang looked up at the plaque on Yuanxing Gate and felt that the gate looked much more sinister than when he worshiped it more than ten years ago.

He said with emotion: "More than ten years ago, when I stopped at Zhaoti Temple, Yuanxing Gate still looked majestic and solemn. More than ten years later, with the passage of time, Yuanxing Gate has become like this."

"More than ten years ago,

An Gangjun, have you ever seen Master Jianzhen in Zhaoti Temple? "Su Wu asked An Gang casually.

He led the horse up the stone steps and pushed open the two doors that were on the verge of being broken. The roofs of the temple's front hall, left and right side halls, and back hall were all visible in sight.

An Gang followed Su Wu and replied after hearing the words: "At that time, Zhaoti Temple was already losing its popularity day by day.

There is no trace of Master Jianzhen.

But I have never met Master Jianzhen. "

Su Wu nodded and looked at the stone palace lanterns on both sides of the gravel road extending from Yuanxing Gate to the front hall. Some of the palace lanterns had white candles burning in them.

——Zhaoti Temple is still looked after by people to this day.

It is normal for the palace lanterns to twinkle along the road.

Su Wu tied the horse in the pine forest outside the gravel road, and everyone behind him followed suit.

He looked around and asked: "Where do the monks here live? It's better to tell them in advance, so as not to scare others."

"The Yuanxing Gate was completely damaged.

There is no difference whether there is a door or not.

I think this place is also a place frequented by thieves and drunkards. The monks here should be used to seeing uninvited guests, so they shouldn't be frightened by us, right? "An Gang tied up the horse and joked with Su Wu.

Su Wu smiled and was about to speak when suddenly a gust of wind blew past his right back.

This gust of wind was so cold that it brushed against his neck, like hair brushing against his skin!

He turned back suddenly!

The surrounding Inoue family samurai and Yasu Tsuna all frowned and looked back in the direction where the wind was blowing——

Yuanxingmen stands alone in the dark night, motionless, decayed and withered.

Su Wu stared at the portal and saw that there seemed to be white, squirming flesh worms in the holes that had been eaten away by insects.

He took another closer look,

Where are the fleshworms in the holes?

The white things are just the original color of the wood exposed after the paint on the surface of the wooden building is damaged.

“It seemed like a gust of wind was blowing just now.

Do you feel it? "Su Wu asked everyone.

Everyone nodded.

"It seems that the reason why the incense in Zhaoti Temple is withering may have a lot to do with the spawn of weirdness here." Su Wu said, and then warned everyone, "Everyone should be more alert."

"yes."

The warriors agreed,

His expression became more serious.

The group continued walking into the temple.

Passing by the front hall of the legendary monk who often has fire gushing out from his body and frantically knocking wooden fish;

Checked out the right side hall where a naked female monk was suspected to be hanging from the beam;

Ring the bronze bell in the attic on the second floor of the nave, which is said to make a girl's whisper.

…

After walking around Zhaoti Temple, except for the cold wind that made Su Wu's back feel cold at the beginning, he never encountered anything strange in Zhaoti Temple.

Those serious legends are not credible.

Not a single legend came true on this night.

Su Wu led everyone to the backyard of the temple. Compared with the tall and solemn halls and buildings in the front hall and middle hall, the backyard suddenly became simple.

The courtyard is surrounded by several Zen rooms.

In the corner is a latrine made of four wooden planks and thatched hut.

Two fields have been cultivated in the courtyard, and the vegetables grown on the land have sprouted in this cold spring.

There is also a bucket and a small hoe that have not been taken away by the field.

——The various furnishings here all indicate that this backyard should be where the old monks who stayed in Zhaoti Temple lived.

An Gang found a stone pillar in the courtyard and sat down, drinking water from his portable kettle.

There are four samurai in the Inoue family located in every corner, consciously acting as sentinels and guards.

Shanmaedo climbed up to the towering gate tower leading from the temple to the backyard and looked at the scene in the distance.

Seeing this scene, Su Wu didn't say anything to them.

He saw that there was still a light on in the meditation room next to him, so he held the big red lotus embryo in his hand, walked to the door of the meditation room, and called inside: "Is there anyone in the room?"

Shortly after the words fell,

A vague voice sounded from inside the door: "Yes. Come in, outsider."

Su Wu's expression moved slightly, and he opened the door and walked closer to the meditation room.

In the Zen room,

In front of Su Wu's left side was a long table against the wall, with an oil lamp lit on the table.

Behind the oil lamp, there was a haggard old monk sitting cross-legged on the bed.

Behind him were two thin quilts neatly folded at the corner of the bed against the wall. Apart from these, there were no extra furnishings in the house.

The old monk brushed the darkness above his head with one hand. There seemed to be dense threads hidden in the darkness, stirred by his withered palm. As the dense black threads moved, the darkness swayed.

He raised his head slightly, and the darkness above his head shook again.

Bright eyes focused on Su Wu.

"There is no place for you to sit in the hall.

If you are willing,

You can take my seat. "

The old monk smiled kindly at Su Wu and spoke. He supported the bed with one hand and swayed his body to make room for Su Wu beside the bed.

Is there any reason for a guest to sit on the kang for the first time?

Even though the old monk didn't care, Su Wu couldn't help but care.

He shook his head and smiled: "No need.

Zen Master, I came here this time to ask you a few questions..."

"I know, I know." The old monk nodded repeatedly, pointing to the seat he gave up, and said, "This seat is reserved for you. If you don't sit down, won't it always be empty?"

It's just a place at the head of the kang.

If it's empty, it's empty, so what's the point?

Thoughts were running through Su Wu's mind, but he couldn't resist the old monk's warm invitation, so he walked over and sat in the seat vacated by the old monk.

The moment I sat in that position,

His thoughts kept moving,

Suddenly I realized something——

Su Wu turned to look at the old monk beside him. The old monk was still smiling and handed the Buddhist beads in his hand to Su Wu: "They are all here. The answers you want to know and the person you want to see are all here. .

I vow to save all sentient beings,

I vow to put an end to endless troubles,

There are countless Dharma doors and I vow to learn them,

The supreme vow of Buddhism comes true...

I vow to save all sentient beings,

I vow to put an end to endless troubles..."

At this time, Su Wu realized that the old monk's head was not bare, but was covered with dense hair. Those hairs blended into the darkness, stirred in the darkness, and turned into a black ocean!

As he handed the beads to himself,

That ocean of ‘troubles’ suddenly disappeared!

The old monk's head became bald.

He turned into golden light and suddenly disappeared from Su Wu's field of vision!

Su Wu was still sitting by the bed.

But the surrounding environment has undergone earth-shaking changes.

It’s still that Zen room,

The long table against the wall on the side of the Zen room has collapsed, and there is no oil lamp on the table.

He sat on the hard bed, but the thin quilts were missing from the bed.

On the four walls of the dilapidated house, there were some dried and shrunken radishes and some mottled and curled calligraphy and paintings whose contents could not be seen clearly. The wall facing Su Wu even had a big hole!

Outside the cave, the samurai of the Inoue family stretched their heads in and said respectfully to Su Wu: "Sir, no one lives in this temple anymore. The old monk of Zhaoti Temple who was originally responsible for guarding probably couldn't stand the gloomy environment here. They all moved out one after another.

I see that the vegetable fields in the yard have been abandoned for a long time.

The pit is also quite dry. "

Su Wu nodded, raised his palm, and held the Buddhist bead that still had a hint of warmth.

He stood up, frowned and walked out the door.

——In fact, the door of the Zen room has collapsed long ago.

In the backyard of the temple.

Shan Qianye still stands guard on the tallest gate tower,

Samurai were stationed in the corners.

An Gang sat on the stone pier in the yard and drank water from the kettle.

Everything was the same as the scene before Su Wu entered the Zen room.

It was as if the various scenes he experienced when he entered the meditation room only occupied a certain moment in the passing time.

At this moment when Su Wu was looking at the backyard,

Shan Qianye turned around, looked at Su Wu in horror, and opened his mouth to shout——

Around the backyard,

Suddenly a blazing fire ignited!

"common people!"

The cold shout was one step ahead and exploded in the backyard!

"Hand over the supreme sword!

You can keep the whole body! "